Sunday, 21 April 2013

Good morning....here we are the 21st of the month again ....so that means a new challenge over at the IndigoBlu blog...

There were some brilliant pieces of work last month....such a high standard...well done to everyone who entered....

The theme this month is ......Flowers.....

Here is my Design Team piece...

Something a little different for me....I do hope that you like it...

The original idea I have borrowed from Sheena Douglass and then put my own twist on it.....as always in the craft industry it is good to give a mention to the people who inspire....

I stamped the poppy stamp from Poppy Meadow onto a canvas from IndigoBlu....then stamped and coloured the background with PanPastels ....I then used Acrylic paint to paint the poppy and when this was dry, re-stamped the poppy in black Stazon ink.

The frame is also from IndigoBlu and I gave it a light wash with the white Gee-Sso Good....and then a light sanding ...

For the main background, I stamped the Script and Honeycomb background stamps in Grey Memento ink..and then added the butterfly image from the Wild Meadow stamp set....assembled it all together....and added a metal embellishment....

I really enjoyed making this and will definitely be making more...

Thank you for looking in today and do have a go at our blog challenge....

This is my D.T. Card and used a stamp set from IndigoBlu called Grand Tour III

The background was made by blending Distress inks on to Linen card and then adding water droplets....the Splodge stamp from the Ledger background was stamped in Brushed Corduroy and then the larger Splodge was made using the same colour Distress Stain....(definitely a new toy and really good way of getting rid of stress!!!!) string was used to add a bit of texture...

This is the inside of the card....

I do hope you like this and why don't you have a go at entering the challenge...

Thursday, 18 April 2013

Good afternoon readers, ...how windy was it last night? ....oh, I had trouble getting off to sleep....I really don't like the wind.....thank goodness it is less today as I had to take Mikey for an appointment this morning at Salford Royal Hospital and wasn't looking forward to driving over Barton Bridge....

All done for this week and back home....

Now on to yesterday when it was workshop day again.....thank you to all the regular crafters who came, really pleased to see Marjorie looking so well and back joining us and it was so good to meet our new lady Sheila...glad you enjoyed it and look forward to seeing you again next time....

Our theme was cards for men....(mmmmmmm...not always easy)

And just for a change we didn't think of sport, or alcohol...

We used a brilliant stamp set from IndigoBlu called Grand Tour III....

This was our first card and we used Linen card and distress inks to make the background....we used water droplets and a Distress stain to make the larger splodges....(I have to say they are great fun to make) all the images were stamped using Distress ink.

For our second card we used another stamp set from IndigoBlu called Brideshead...again brilliant for male cards....the front of the card was trimmed back by about 2cm....the car then stamped on the inside.....a second car was stamped and cut out then stuck on the front of the card and positioned on top of the inner one.....the fob watch was stamped in Distress ink and continued on to the inside....book paper and string mess were used to add a bit of texture...

This is another demo card to show how the stamps can be used with a little bit of masking....I used Peacock Feathers distress ink to make the background....the topper is black card and I used a memory box die...(my new favourites....bought from Samuel Taylors...) Vintage Bicycle...

I do hope you like these, the crafters made some lovely cards and as usual we did have a giggle....

Take care all ....and have you noticed ...I am on a roll....I may even post tomorrow....pop back and see....hugs. Jo. X

Wednesday, 17 April 2013

Hi, midweek ....we have made it to Wednesday.....my favourite day.....Workshops.....but more about them tomorrow....(sorry, you will have to wait to see what we created this week!)

Today, I am going to share two more of my D.T. Samples from the IndigoBlu t.v show this weekend...

These both use the fabulous Ella Bella stamp...

For this first card I have used FlitterGlu to stamp with onto Vellum and then Wow Embossing Powder (Sparkling Snow) ...I stamped the image out twice so that I had some extra flourishes to place behind the bow.

The background is created simply by covering a piece of card with a large piece of lace.

A different look to this card by using black card and gold embossing powder. I made the base for the topper by using FlitterGlu, card and Morris Dance Mega-Flakes....the background was created by stamping the flourish part of the stamp in a random fashion..it is good to try and use all the different parts of the stamps..

Ribbon and flowers were used to add extra detail to the card.

Hope you like these two cards and pop back tomorrow to see the workshop cards from this week...

Monday, 15 April 2013

Good morning and here we are start of another week....I wonder what it will have in store for us all....

Did you manage to watch Kay on C&C yesterday...wow it was a busy show and most of the products sold out.....more work for the Elves back at IndigoBlu H.Q.

Here are two of the cars that I made using the Wild Meadow Stamp plate.

This first one is made by using Distress inks ...(Spiced Marmalade and Mustard Seed) and simply blending them to cover the card blank. I then stamped over the top with more Distress ink using the Honeycomb background stamp and the splodge from the Ledger background stamp. The image was then stamped directly onto the card using Black Archival ink....string is used to add the finishing detail.

To make this card I created my own aperture mask using my die cutting machine and an oval die...I then sponged PanPastels through the aperture to create the background.....this is a really quick and effective way to make a card.....then it is just simple stamping using the butterfly stamp and Black Versafine ink. The words come from the sentiment stamp ....simply cut up....oh and a wobbly line with the fine liner pen ...(easy if you have whacky hands like me).

Friday, 12 April 2013

Today, I am going to introduce you to my new toy.......a Gelli Plate....

Have you heard of them? Well if you watched Clarity on Create and Craft last Sunday you will have seen Barbara Gray demonstrating with hers...

It is a mono printing plate......

Here is my version of the card, I used two colours of Acrylic paint on my Gelli Plate and at last Billy Brayer had a full afternoon of playtime.....

I used sequin waste, rolled up string and a variety of masks to make the pattern.

Once I was happy with my pattern, I removed the masks etc and then placed a small piece of card in the middle to pull off the central section....(and yes, this is Barbara's idea....not mine....so thank you and hope you don't mind me using it..) this central piece is going to be used on another project.

I then placed my larger (7x7) card on to the plate, rubbed it and made the background .....oh, I can print paper....

I then did a few more....very addictive .....so many possibilities.....I could have played all day....

The paint dries really quickly and so I then added the central picture by stamping Clarity Stamps and using Archival ink-Sepia....

I used the Garden set and the large Sprig stamps. Also in the front of the design is a lovely Clarity Club stamp....Cow Parsley...

The shading was added with Adirondack inks and a sponge...I used, Denim, Expresso and Pesto.

String and a stamped watering can were added to compliment the design...

Sunday, 7 April 2013

Happy Sunday to everyone and how lovely the weather is today....so good to see the sun....and to be able to do some gardening....

Which is why I have to share this photograph with you....Karl took it yesterday in the car park at Pooles Cavern....and yes the snow pile was bigger than me..

It was the second workshop there and I must thank the staff, they are brilliant...if you fancy a day out do check out what they have to offer....from walking to Go Ape and a great cafe...

http://www.poolescavern.co.uk

As some of the ladies are new to crafting our first card used a variety of papers, cut outs, toppers and distressing techniques.....String and Card Candi were used to finish the design...our theme for the day was (the very difficult!!!!) ..Cards for Men....

Our second card used a stamp set from Papermania....Nostalgia....

We stamped using Distressed Ink and then water and a brush to drag the colour and produce a watercolour effect....this is a really great technique, if you haven't tried it...do give it a go....it gives such great looking results.... (and is so quick to do).

All the crafters made two brilliant cards....(and yes....all.....I won't name and shame....but great to see you finish both projects.....you know who you are.....Hugs....)

Right I am off now got another busy week ahead....and looking forward to watching The Village tonight......filmed locally in Hayfield.....I was lucky to live there for many years and it has such fond memories in my heart.....

Wednesday, 3 April 2013

I've just got home after a brilliant day....it was workshop day at the United Reformed Church in Hazel Grove and today we had a special guest.

The very talented Maria Simms came to join us for the day...

She passed on so many hints, tips and knowledge about card making, the Splode mat and Brayering....(as many of you know my Billy Brayer is kept in his box and only comes out when absolutely necessary....today was his lucky day....he came out to play!!!!)

This is the card that the crafters made and is very clever how it includes three tags with many different techniques...

It was great to see how good the Splodge mat is used, how it really reduces ink waste.....and even makes the Brayer easier....

Clarity Stamps, Distress and Archival ink were used...

Then we made a quick card using many of these techniques and some more fabulous Clarity Stamps...

It was a fantastic day, thank you to all the crafters who came and a big Thank you to Maria .....you are a star!!!

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Copyright Notice

Please feel free to take inspiration from my projects, but spare a thought for the hours of work that have gone into them and please don't copy or upload any of my work claiming it as your own. Plus please remember that it is polite to give credit where it is due and mention where your inspiration has come from!

Many thanks, Jo x

About Me

I have been crafting for many years with my main interest being card making and pyrography. I am a freelance designer and crafter who runs regular workshops and love to share ideas with fellow crafters. I am 52 years old, married and we have 2 grown up sons. My crafty companions are a 6 year old yellow labrador named Tess and Eric who is a Black Labrador and he is 10 months old...